MacGregorSailors.com

Jacek,

Just a wild guess, but I bet no more than 2 dozen members here have painted their own hull. And, among those 2 dozen, perhaps only one or two visit here frequently. Did you try using the Search button?

Searching on [bottom paint] yields 261 hits. Unfortunately, our search function returns all threads that contain both words, not just the "word pair." Nonetheless, you can scan that list of returns and recognize threads that are clearly on your topic.
Here are a few. Hope it's useful.

Mooring 26x on permant basis

Best bottom paint to not have blisters??

Advice on doing bottom paint...

Bottom Paint - Interesting Considerations

Do I need bottom paint? (Blisters, etc)

Painting hull with ani-fouling

I had my boat bottom painted. I researched the need for bottom painting extensively. I'm keeping my boat on the Chesapeake bay. From what I learned in researching this you will be wasting your money if your keeping your boat on a cold mountain lake. There aren't any barnacles on cold mountain lakes. You will get green slim growth no matter what. If you are worried about blistering, you don't need anti-fouling, just a barrier coat.

I would think twice before applying bottom paint on a fresh-water boat. Bottom paint that actually works is getting very hard to buy. EPA regs, that kind of stuff. It's very expensive and it's forbidden on some clean, pure lakes. It's nasty stuff. Few if any fresh water boats ever blister, and bottom paint won't prevent that..It dries fast and generally uses special thinners.

If you insist on doing it, lightly steel wool or Scotch-Brite the hull, wipe it down with Prep-Sol or mineral spirits and brush or roll the paint on. It's toxic, so face mask, eye protection, gloves, paper suit are a must..You can, with care, jack the boat up to get under the trailer bunks.

I would only do this if bottom fouling was a REAL problem..

cuisto wrote:BEENE,

Where do you live? Where do you sail out of??

CLICK HERE

My old 1988 Mac 26D stayed every 4 month summer season from 1989 thru 2000 in freshwater slip upriver at South Haven MI. No osmosis despite no epoxy barrier coat. After growing waterline grass the first year, I applied VC17m hard copper/teflon antifouling annually which kept the bottom clean. Zebra mussels in the area never attacked my boat.

My new 2001 26X was a bigger investment and I feared osmosis (the pox) and thot I might put it in salt water for a week or 2 at a time (did so in Florida Bay 2 weeks in 2002). So I immediately (spring 2001) epoxy barrier coated (4 coats Interlux Interprotect 2000 E) against pox and then applied 3 coats Interlux Micron Extra antifouling against plant and animal passengers. Followed directions on can(s) precisely. Much work and $ and maybe slowed the boat a bit, but no pox and no significant fouling yet, tho a little waterline slime last 2 falls suggests I am past due to apply another antifouling coat or 2.

I seem to recall reading that warm fresh water is the riskiest combination for getting the pox, with cold salt water the least risky, but I can't cite a source, so don"t take my word for it.

Good luck....Ron

Now that the weather is drying up a bit here, I'm on the same quest. I don't have any answers for you, but many of the same questions. Todd @ BWY told me the same thing as Ron did (below). Our plan is to moor 4-6 mtns in the PNW, then on trailer (with the occassional outing) Oct-March. With that in mind, he didn't feel that epoxy was neccessary, just anti-fouling. He recommended Pettit Ultima SR for my application.

ronacarme wrote:I seem to recall reading that warm fresh water is the riskiest combination for getting the pox, with cold salt water the least risky, but I can't cite a source, so don"t take my word for it.

Good luck....Ron

I applied my bottom paint a couple of months ago. I started off using slimy grimy. It didn't work for me so I pressure washed the bottom. After that I sanded the bottom with 80 grit drywall mesh. I used blue painters tape for the waterline and bootstrap. I also used vivid bright hard paint. I used one gallon for the bottom. Bought several cheap rollers and a couple of throwa way brushes. Almost got three coats out of the gallon. Hope this helps

I keep my 98X in a slip on lake Simcoe from May to October. For the 1st 2 years I used wax and found small blisters in the gel coat when cleaning the bottom at the end of the 2nd. season. The next spring I stripped the wax, light sanded the bottom, put on 3 or 4 coats of Interlux 2000 barrier, I believe I used 2 gallons, I then put on 3 coats on Interlux CSC. I used CSC because it has no buildup, is effective for multible launches and 2-3 seasons, is effective in fresh and salt water (I may want to take the boat to the coast in the future. I am very happy with the results and Bottom cleaning in the fall is a snap with a 1700 PSI pressure washer.
You don't need to remove any of the gel coat, make sure you remove all the wax, just ruffen it lightly with a palm sander and 80 grit paper.
I used an 8 inch roller which I got at the same place as the interlux ( The Rigging Shoppe).
I used 1 inch painter's masking tape and placed it below the black water line, I painted up to the tape.
Hubert

Wow...3 coats to a gallon eh. When I painted mine about 1.5 years ago (over top of some old sanded down bottom paint), I only got one coat to the gallon.. Granted, I also painted the CB and CB trunk which probably used up the last 1/3 of the gallon.